1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to the separation of waste material stored in industrial drums. More specifically, drums of waste material are opened by shearing and the contents extruded therefrom are deposited in a sorter where liquids, sludge and trash are separated and thereafter transported to storage and disposal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art discloses methods and apparatus for the treatment of waste materials by sorting or pulping.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,341,353 discloses a method and apparatus for recovering fuel from refuse by utilizing disk screens. The various components of the refuse are separated by passing the refuse through a disk screen wherein crushed glass and other fine material are removed. The remaining refuse is then separated into light and heavy fractions in an air classifier. U.S. Pat. No. 4,264,352 also discloses a solid waste treatment system wherein heavy inorganic materials are segregated and removed for recycling purposes. A pug-mill is utilized to add moisture prior to digestion and maceration. U.S. Pat. No. 3,790,091 shows a method for separating solid waste material into components by recycling the solid waste materials through reducing devices to reduce the waste to uniform particle size and thereafter separating the particles by weight, size and magnetic properties.
The prior art does not disclose the concept of shearing a large industrial drum and extruding the contents into a sorter where liquid/sludge and solid trash components are separated and then transported to storage and landfill, respectively.